text:
2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Togo
- Author: Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
- Document source:
25 February 2009
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
February 25, 2009
Togo, with a population of 6.3 million, is a republic governed by President Faure Gnassingbe, who was declared president in 2005 in an election marred by severe irregularities. President Faure Gnassingbe replaced his father, former president Gnassingbe Eyadema, who died in 2005 after 38 years in power. Eyadema and his party, Rally of the Togolese People (RPT), strongly backed by the armed forces, had dominated politics and maintained firm control over all levels of the highly centralized government until his death. In October 2007 the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) organized generally free and fair legislative elections for the 81 seats in the National Assembly. All major opposition parties participated in the elections, and the opposition won a total of 31 seats. While civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the security forces, there were instances in which elements of the security forces acted independently.
The human rights situation in the country improved; however, serious human rights problems continued, including: partial inability of citizens to change their government; torture and other abuse of detainees; rape; official impunity; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrests and detention; lengthy pretrial detention; executive influence over the judiciary; infringement of citizens' privacy rights; restrictions on the press, including banning media programs; restrictions on freedom of assembly and movement; corruption; female genital mutilation (FGM) and violence against women; discrimination against women; regional and ethnic favoritism; trafficking in persons, especially children; child labor, including forced child labor; and lack of workers' rights in export processing zones (EPZs).
During the year the government took significant steps to advance human and political rights, including the organization of a Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation consultation process meant to facilitate forgiveness and reconciliation, aid the fight against corruption and judicial impunity, and reinforce national unity in the country. The government waived public primary school fees and more than doubled the minimum wage.
1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life
The government or its agents did not commit any confirmed politically motivated killings.
On August 15, an outspoken political leader and former government minister was found dead on the beach in Lome. The results of an autopsy performed by a coroner from the international NGO Physicians for Human Rights were inconclusive but did disprove the findings of the Togolese coroner, who had ruled the minister's death as a result of a drug overdose. The government did not investigate the minister's death further
Despite promises to investigate, the government had not released a report at year's end on the July 2007 killing of a soldier guarding the national radio station, Radio Lome.
The government took no action against the police officer who beat Yaya Moussa to death in 2006.
During the year the government held no trials and conducted no prosecutions of the perpetrators of violence and vandalism related to the 2005 presidential elections. In 2005 there were reports of mass graves, and military personnel reportedly transported more than 100 unidentified bodies to unknown destinations. In 2005 the government created the Special Independent Investigation Commission to probe the violence and vandalism that occurred before, during, and after the election. The commission held security forces, the ruling party, and opposition party members responsible for the violence and recommended that individuals involved be prosecuted. However, the government still had not acted on the recommendations at year's end.
b. Disappearance
There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
The constitution prohibits such practices; however, such practices continued to occur. There were numerous reports of torture or mistreatment of detainees, according to Amnesty International (AI) in its 2008 report. Impunity remained a problem, and the government did not prosecute publicly officials for such abuses.
Members of the security forces raped prostitutes who refused to provide sex in exchange for being allowed to enter some sections of Lome.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions
Prison conditions remained harsh, with serious overcrowding, poor sanitation, and unhealthy food. At year's end Lome's central prison, built to accommodate 500 prisoners, held 1,557 inmates, including 39 women. Medical facilities were inadequate, and disease and drug abuse were widespread. Sick prisoners reportedly had to pay 1,500 CFA francs (approximately $3.30) to guards before being allowed to visit the infirmary. There were reports that prison officials sometimes withheld medical treatment from prisoners. Lawyers and journalists reported that prison guards charged prisoners a small fee to shower, use the toilet, or have a place to sleep. Local press reported that prison guards sexually harassed female prisoners.
The government provided no statistics on the number of prison deaths, but confirmed that prisoners died as a result of poor living conditions.
The infants of convicted women were incarcerated with their mothers. Pretrial detainees were not held separately from convicted prisoners.
Local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) were allowed access to all prisons. Local NGOs also had access to military detention centers; however, the visits by NGOs generally were announced well in advance.
In April 2007 a delegation of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture visited prison, gendarmerie, police, and military detention facilities throughout the country without prior announcement and met with detainees. The special rapporteur stated that prisons were overcrowded. He noted evidence of ill-treatment by law enforcement officials, mainly inflicted during interrogation to obtain a confession, and that conditions in police custody and in most prisons amounted to inhumane treatment. He reported that soldiers at the military camp of Kara insulted and threatened the members of his delegation and prevented them from visiting cells inside the camp.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention
The constitution and law prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention; however, the government did not always respect these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus
The security forces consist of the army, navy, air force, national security service (including the national police and investigation bureau), and the gendarmerie. The police are under the direction of the Ministry of Security, which reports to the prime minister. The Ministry of Defense, which reports directly to the president, oversees the gendarmerie and military. Police and gendarmes are responsible for law enforcement and maintenance of order. However, the army, charged with external security by law, was in charge of domestic security. Approximately 80 percent of the army's officers and soldiers were from the previous and current presidents' ethnic group, the Kabye, which constitutes approximately 23 percent of the population.
Police generally were ineffective and corrupt, and impunity was a problem. Police often failed to respond to societal violence. The government in general did not investigate or punish effectively those who committed abuses, nor did it prosecute persons responsible in previous years for unlawful killings and disappearances. No progress was made in examining complaints from a collective of more than 100 victims of human rights abuses committed during the 2005 presidential election. In 2007 the victims were asked to pay 25,000 CFA francs (approximately $50) to the court to move their cases forward. Some of the victims were unable to pay and withdrew their complaints. Others paid the requested fee but still saw no progress on their cases during the year.
In August 2007 newly recruited police agents randomly beat civilians in an area of Lome; young men in the area had beaten a policeman a day earlier. The chief of police stated that the perpetrating police agents, as well as the men who beat the policeman, would be arrested and prosecuted. However, by year's end there was no new information available on the case.
In October the military trained about 40 senior and junior officers and subordinates under the theme "the role of the armed forces in the promotion and protection of human rights."
Arrest and Detention
The law authorizes judges, senior police officials, prefects, and mayors to issue arrest warrants; however, persons were detained arbitrarily and secretly. Although detainees have the right to be informed of the charges against them, police sometimes ignored this right. The law allows authorities to hold arrested persons incommunicado without charge for 48 hours, with an additional 48-hour extension in cases deemed serious or complex. Family members and attorneys officially had access to a detainee after 48 or 96 hours of detention, but authorities often delayed, and sometimes denied, access. The law stipulates that a special judge conduct a pretrial investigation to examine the adequacy of evidence and decide on bail; however, in practice detainees often were held without bail for lengthy periods with or without the approval of a judge.
A number of persons detained in 2005 continued to be held without trial in Lome Central Prison, including suspected critics of the government. Most reportedly were tortured or mistreated during the first few days of detention, according to AI's 2007 report. An accurate count of the detainees was not available. During the year a domestic newspaper reported that six persons detained in 2005 in connection with election-related violence remained in prison, although the government continued to claim that there were no political prisoners.
As during the previous year, the government made some effort to clear the backlog of criminal cases by providing free legal services for 67 prisoners and preparing for trial 94 cases of pretrial detainees.
A shortage of judges and other qualified personnel, as well as official inaction, resulted in lengthy pretrial detention – in some cases several years – and confinement of prisoners for periods exceeding the time they would have served if tried and convicted. Almost 80 percent of inmates were pretrial detainees.
On April 27, the 48th anniversary of the country's independence day, the president released 297 prisoners who had served three quarters of their sentences.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
Although the constitution provides for an independent judiciary, the executive branch continued to exert control over the judiciary, and corruption was a problem. Lawyers often bribed judges to influence the outcome of cases. The court system remained overburdened and understaffed. A judicial reform process started in 2005 and intended to last until 2010 was significantly behind schedule.
There were three associations of magistrates in the country: the Union of Magistrates of Togo (SMT), the National Association of Magistrates (ANM), and the Professional Association of Magistrates of Togo (APMT). A majority of the APMT members were supporters of President Gnassingbe's party, the RPT. Judges who belonged to the pro-RPT APMT reportedly received the most prestigious assignments, while judges who advocated an independent judiciary and belonged to the ANM or SMT often were assigned to second-tier positions. For example, the president of the Constitutional Court was the founder and leader of the APMT; in Lome, the presidents of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and Court of First Instance were members of the APMT as were the public prosecutor and the attorney general. In Kara, the president of the Court of Appeals and the president of the Court of First Instance were members of the APMT.
The Constitutional Court is the highest court for constitutional issues while the Supreme Court is the highest court for civil judicial cases. The civil judiciary system includes the Supreme Court, appeals courts, and courts of first instance. A military tribunal exists for crimes committed by security forces; its proceedings were closed. The military court cannot try civilians. The military court does not accord military defendants the same rights as civilians.
Trial Procedures
The judicial system employs both traditional law and the Napoleonic Code in trying criminal and civil cases. Defendants do not enjoy a presumption of innocence. Defendants have the right to be present at their trials. Trials were open to the public, juries were used, and judicial procedures generally were respected. Defendants have the right to counsel and to appeal. All defendants have the right to an attorney and the bar association provides attorneys for the indigent. Defendants may confront witnesses and present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf. Defendants have the right to access government-held evidence relevant to their cases, but in practice were denied that right.
In rural areas, the village chief or council of elders is authorized to try minor criminal and civil cases. Those who reject the traditional authority can take their cases to the regular court system, which is the starting point for cases in urban areas.
Political Prisoners and Detainees
The government denied the existence of political detainees; however, six persons arrested after the 2005 election and affiliated with the opposition reportedly were being held in a prison near Kara, an area of strong RPT support. AI reported that dozens of persons were in detention following the election. Security forces sometimes moved political detainees to informal detention centers under the control of the military or RPT militia. Because the government did not acknowledge any political detainees, it did not permit any organizations to have access to them.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies
Both the constitution and the law provide for civil and administrative remedies for wrongdoing, but the judiciary did not respect such provisions, and most citizens were unaware of them.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence
The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice. In criminal cases, a judge or senior police official may authorize searches of private residences; in political and national security cases, security forces need no prior authorization.
Citizens believed that the government monitored telephones and correspondence, although such surveillance was not confirmed.
2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and of the press; however, the government continued to restrict these rights. During the year the government at times interfered with radio stations. Journalists and radio and television broadcasters practiced self-censorship.
Although the government did not officially censor individual expression, most persons practiced self-censorship because of past violent reprisals by government agents.
There was a lively independent press, most of which was heavily politicized, and some of which was highly critical of the government. More than 25 privately owned newspapers were published with some regularity. The only daily newspaper, Togo-Presse, was owned and controlled by the government. The official media heavily slanted their content in favor of the government.
Radio remained the most important medium of mass communication. Some private radio stations broadcast domestic news; however, they offered little of the political commentary and criticism of the government that was widespread in the print media.
International media were allowed to operate freely.
The station director of Radio Lumiere, who fled the country after a military detachment seized Radio Lumiere's broadcasting equipment in 2005, remained in self-exile. Radio Lumiere resumed broadcasting under another director in 2005, but in July the High Authority of Audiovisuals and Communications (HAAC) suspended all live debates on the station.
The government-owned Togo Television was the only major television station. Eight smaller television stations operated during the year – four covering sports or religion, two private political stations and two independent political stations – but broadcast only to limited geographic areas. TV7, an independent station, also carried weekly political debates through the program "Seven on Seven," a weekly political forum in which governing and opposition party leaders, human rights organizations, and other observers participated in discussions of political issues and expressed either criticism or support for the government. La Chaine du Futur, a private station similar to TV7 created during the year, reported positively on the ruling government.
The constitution established the HAAC to provide for freedom of the press, ensure ethical standards, and allocate frequencies to private television and radio stations. Although nominally independent, in practice the HAAC operated as an arm of the government.
According to the NGO Committee to Protect Journalists, on February 19, the HAAC issued a ruling banning all editorials and commentary by journalist Daniel Lawson-Drackey from private radio station Nana FM; the ban continued at year's end. In February 2007 the president of the HAAC temporarily had banned radio Nana FM from broadcasting commentary by journalist Daniel Lawson-Drackey that criticized the minister of territorial administration.
In January 2007 the president of the HAAC closed Radio Victoire for ignoring two warnings to stop airing a program that French journalist Jacques Roux presented. The program criticized the chairman of the football federation. The HAAC stated that the French journalist had no accreditation and was insulting authorities on air. The ban lasted for 15 days.
In June 2007 the HAAC temporarily suspended three newspapers: La Trompette for four months for disrespecting its authority and for refusing to publish a right of reply, Le Perroquet for two months for publishing false news and for refusing to respect the press code, and Le Courrier de la Republique for three months for refusing to publish a right of reply.
Internet Freedom
There were no government restrictions on access to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. Internet access was readily available except in remote rural locations.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events
The government intimidated academics by maintaining a security force presence at the University of Lome. According to students and professors, a government informer system continued to exist and undercover gendarmes attended classes.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
Freedom of Assembly
The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly; however, the government generally restricted this right, although less than in previous years.
In March the government denied applications for permits from the Togolese Consumers Association to protest the high cost of living.
On April 15, military police used tear gas to disperse a group of retired military members who were protesting the nonpayment of pension arrears from 2000.
On April 16, a paratroop brigade broke up a group of students protesting the condition of the University of Kara. Several injuries were reported.
In February 2007 the government published new rules for political demonstrations. The rules provide that, in compliance with the Global Political Agreement (which provided for a transitional unity government to prepare for legislative elections), and to preserve public order, political parties must hold their public demonstrations on a Saturday or Sunday and must notify the Ministry of Security and the Ministry of Territorial Administration 72 hours prior to the planned demonstration. No notification is required for rallies on private property.
In August 2007 the government banned street demonstrations planned by several opposition parties, including the UFC, ADDI, and UDS-Togo. The government stated that the demonstrations aimed to block preparations for the legislative elections.
In October 2007 security forces used tear gas to disperse a group of UFC activists attempting to invade the CENI office after a meeting that the party held at Freau Jardin, a local plaza. The UFC and the media reported that security forces beat, brutalized, and insulted demonstrators; an estimated 10 persons were injured and 25 arrested.
Freedom of Association
Under the constitution and law, citizens have the right to organize associations and political parties, and the government generally respected this right.
c. Freedom of Religion
The constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the government generally respected this right.
The government recognizes three main faiths as state religions: Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and Islam. Other religious groups, such as animists, Mormons, and Jehovah's Witnesses, were required to register as associations. Official recognition as an association affords the same rights that the official religious groups enjoy.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination
The Jewish community was very small, and there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International Religious Freedom Report.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of Refugees, and Stateless Persons
The law provides for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation; however, the government restricted some of these rights in practice. Checkpoints with armed security personnel and arbitrary searches of vehicles and individuals were common. Security forces frequently demanded bribes, which impeded freedom of movement. While the government reduced the number of official checkpoints to four countrywide during the year, there were many unofficial checkpoints, at which security forces solicited bribes.
On August 28 and August 30, two parliamentarians were prohibited from departing the country because they did not have written permission from the president of the National Assembly; written permission for parliamentarians to travel is not required by law.
The constitution prohibits forced exile, and the government did not employ it. However, several opposition and human rights workers remained in self-imposed exile because they feared arrest.
Of the 40,000 citizens who fled as refugees to Ghana and Benin following election-related violence in 2005, most had returned due to government outreach and facilitation agreements signed between the government, UNHCR and the governments of Benin and Ghana. Approximately 4,600 refugees remained in Ghana and Benin at year's end.
Protection of Refugees
The laws do not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, but the government has established a system for providing protection to refugees. In practice, the government provided protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened. The government granted refugee status or asylum.
A voluntary repatriation program for 508 Ghanaian refugees remained unimplemented because of continuing unrest and instability in Ghana along the Togo-Ghana border. An unknown number of additional Ghanaian refugees arrived during the year. Some of these refugees have been integrated into society and no longer receive assistance.
The government also provided temporary protection to approximately 420 individuals who may not qualify as refugees under the 1951 convention and its 1967 protocol.
The government cooperated with the UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees and asylum seekers.
3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right partially through legislative elections in October 2007 declared to be generally free and fair by the international community. However, the National Assembly exercised no real oversight of the executive branch of the government. In 2005 Faure Gnassingbe was declared president in an election characterized by international observers as marred by severe irregularities and violence, including the deaths of an estimated 500 persons.
After the October 2007 elections, the National Assembly comprised three political parties, although cabinet members were drawn largely from the party of the president. The government remained highly centralized. The national government appoints officials and controls the budgets of government entities at all levels, including prefectures and municipalities, and influences the selection of traditional chiefs.
Elections and Political Participation
In October 2007 citizens voted to elect the 81 members of the National Assembly in 31 electoral districts, choosing from 2,000 candidates who ran on 395 party lists. International and national observers monitored the elections and declared them to be generally free, fair, transparent, and peaceful.
On October 23, CENI announced that the ruling RPT had won 50 seats, the UFC 27 seats, and the Action Committee for Renewal (CAR) four seats. The Constitutional Court, which is the final arbiter of all electoral issues, concurred and issued definitive results on October 30.
A new government was appointed on September 15 after the resignation of Prime Minister Komlan Mally following the completion of his mandate.
In August the government prohibited two opposition parliamentarians from leaving the country because they did not notify the president of the National Assembly. Both submitted their letters and were allowed to leave several days later.
There were nine female members of the National Assembly and four female ministers in the 28-member cabinet.
Members of the southern ethnic groups remained underrepresented in both the government and military.
Government Corruption and Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; however, the government did not implement the law effectively, and officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. For example, in 2007 the CAC levied allegations of corruption against the director general of the Social Security Agency, who remained in his position at year's end.
According to the government's official interim poverty reduction strategy paper, prepared in April, corruption and lack of transparency in the management of public funds was a problem throughout the government. The constitution provides for the creation of a court of accounts to oversee public expenditures; however, the government had not established it by year's end.
Officials were not subject to financial disclosure laws.
Although the press code provides for public access to government information, the government did not permit access for either citizens or noncitizens, including foreign media. Reasons for denial were not given.
4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
A variety of domestic and international human rights groups generally operated without government restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials sometimes were cooperative but typically were not responsive to NGO recommendations.
There were several domestic private human rights groups, including the Togolese League of Human Rights, the Center for Observation and Promotion of the Rule of Law, and the Togolese Association for the Defense and Protection of Human Rights. Years of government threats and intimidation of human rights leaders, combined with a lack of results from human rights initiatives, have led some human rights groups to become inactive.
The government met with some domestic NGOs that monitor human rights but took no action in response to their recommendations. In 2006 AI and other international NGOs criticized the government for failing to bring to justice those involved in election-related violence during 2005.
The government generally cooperated with international governmental organizations and permitted visits by UN representatives or other organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross.
In April 2007 a delegation of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture visited prison, gendarmerie, police, and military detention facilities without prior announcement throughout the country and met with detainees. The special rapporteur stated that prisons were overcrowded. He noted evidence of ill-treatment by law enforcement officials, mainly inflicted during interrogation to obtain a confession, and noted conditions in police custody and in most prisons amounted to inhumane treatment. He reported that soldiers at the military camp of Kara insulted and threatened the delegation and prevented it from visiting cells inside the camp.
A permanent human rights committee exists within the National Assembly, but it did not play any significant role in policymaking and was not independent of the government.
5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race, gender, religion, disability, language, or social status; however, the government did not enforce these provisions effectively.
The law criminalizes rape and provides for prison terms of five to 10 years for anyone found guilty of the crime. The prison term is 20 years if the victim is a child under 14, is gang-raped, or if the rape results in pregnancy, disease, or incapacitation lasting more than six weeks. The law does not specifically outlaw spousal rape. Although the government was diligent in investigating and prosecuting reports of rape, victims were reluctant to report it because of the social stigma associated with being raped. Rape was thought to be a widespread problem throughout the country.
The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence, and domestic violence against women continued to be a widespread problem. According to a local NGO, 614 women in Lome reported being victims of domestic violence during the year. Police generally did not intervene in abusive situations, and women were not made aware of the formal judicial mechanisms designed to protect them.
The law prohibits prostitution, including operating a brothel, and provides for fines of up to one million CFA francs (approximately $2,200) for brothel owners and panderers. Prostitution in Lome was fairly widespread since economic opportunities for women were severely limited. Several prostitutes in Lome reported that they had to pay security forces to pass through certain parts of town; this payment most often took the form of sex or bribes. Members of the security forces raped prostitutes who protested the payment. The government did not act to stop this practice.
A presidential decree, issued in 1984, prohibits sexual harassment and specifically mentions harassment of female students; however, authorities did not enforce the decree.
Although the law declares women equal under the law, women continued to experience discrimination, especially in education, pension benefits, and inheritance, as a consequence of traditional law, which applies to the vast majority of women. A husband legally can restrict his wife's freedom to work or control her earnings. In urban areas women and girls dominated market activities and commerce; however, harsh economic conditions in rural areas, where most of the population lived, left women with little time for activities other than domestic tasks and agricultural fieldwork. The labor code requires equal pay for equal work, regardless of gender, but this provision generally was observed only in the formal sector. There are no restrictions on women owning property. Under traditional law a wife has no maintenance or child support rights in the event of divorce or separation and no inheritance rights upon the death of her husband. Polygyny was practiced. Otherwise, women can own property with no special restrictions. Women did not experience economic discrimination in access to employment, credit, or managing a business.
During the year the Ministry of Social Affairs and Promotion of Women, along with independent women's groups and concerned NGOs, continued to campaign to inform women of their rights.
Although the law provides for the protection of children's rights, government programs often suffered from a lack of funding, materials, and enforcement. According to the year's budget, 4.2 percent of the national budget was allocated to education.
There were many practices that discriminated against children, especially girls. A private radio station, Radio Zephir, sponsored by the NGO Plan International, broadcast a weekly program for children titled "Children Also Have Rights."
In July 2007, the government put into effect the country's first Child Code. The code provides for the protection of children's economic, psychological, and moral rights and includes national and international standards intended to protect children. The code prohibits child trafficking, child prostitution, child pornography, the employment of children in armed conflict, and other worst forms of child labor, including the selling of children for sexual exploitation, forced labor, or servitude. As a result of this code, during the year, hundreds of children were released from service as assistants to traditional healers.
The government provided education in state schools, and school attendance is compulsory for both boys and girls until the age of 15. On October 1, the government announced that public nursery schools and primary schools would be free. According to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), although 92 percent of boys and 85 percent of girls started primary school only an estimated 58 percent of boys and 41 percent of girls finished primary school. For secondary school, the net enrollment was 34 percent for boys and 12 percent for girls, but only 19 percent of boys and 9 percent of girls completed secondary school.
Orphans and other needy children received some aid from extended families or private organizations but little from the government. There were social programs to provide free health care for poor children.
Child abuse was a widespread problem. Although the law explicitly prohibits sexual exploitation of children and child prostitution, the government did not effectively enforce the prohibitions. The government continued to work with local NGOs on public awareness campaigns to prevent exploitation of children.
The law prohibits FGM; however, according to UNICEF, FGM continued to be perpetrated on approximately six percent of girls. Although no statistics were available, the government and NGOs believed the practice had decreased significantly in urban areas since the 1998 anti-FGM law was passed but continued as previously in rural areas. The most common form of FGM was excision, which was usually performed on girls a few months after birth. Most of the larger ethnic groups did not practice FGM. Penalties for practitioners of FGM range from two months to five years in prison as well as substantial fines. However, the law rarely was applied because most FGM cases occurred in rural areas where victims generally were unaware of their rights. Traditional customs often took precedence over the legal system among certain ethnic groups. The government continued to sponsor seminars to educate and campaign against FGM. Several NGOs, with international assistance, organized educational campaigns to inform women of their rights and how to care for victims of FGM and worked to create alternative labor opportunities for former practitioners.
Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits trafficking in children but not adults; however, persons were trafficked to, from, and within the country. The government had little or no funding to investigate traffickers. Police had limited success in intercepting victims of trafficking, and prosecution of traffickers was rare. Detained traffickers often can pay a bribe to secure their release; however, during the year ten traffickers were arrested, and all remained in prison at year's end.
Government agencies involved in antitrafficking efforts included the Ministry of Social Affairs and Protection of Women, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Security, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Labor, and the security forces (especially police, army, and customs units). The government cooperated with NGOs and the governments of Ghana, Benin, and Nigeria under a quadripartite law allowing for expedited extradition among those countries.
The country remained a country of origin, transit, and destination for trafficking in persons, primarily children. More young girls than boys were victims of trafficking. Trafficking in women for the purpose of prostitution or forced labor as domestic servants was a problem.
Trafficking occurred throughout the country. The majority of trafficking victims were children from the poorest rural areas, particularly those of Kotocoli, Tchamba, Ewe, Kabye, and Akposso ethnicity and mainly from the Maritime, Plateau, and Central regions. Adult victims usually were lured with phony job offers. Children often were trafficked abroad by parents misled by false information. Sometimes parents sold their children to traffickers for bicycles, radios, or clothing and signed parental authorizations transferring their children to the custody of the trafficker.
Children were trafficked into indentured and exploitative servitude, which amounted at times to slavery. Most trafficking occurred internally, with children trafficked from rural areas to cities, primarily Lome, to work as domestics, produce porters, or roadside sellers. The country was a transit point for children trafficked from Burkina Faso, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, and Nigeria. There were credible reports that Nigerian women and children were trafficked through the country to Europe (particularly Italy and the Netherlands) for the purpose of prostitution. Victims were trafficked elsewhere in West Africa and to Central Africa, particularly Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, and Gabon; to Europe, primarily France and Germany; and to the Middle East, including Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. Children were trafficked to Benin for indentured servitude and to Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana for domestic servitude. Boys were trafficked for agricultural work to Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, and Benin, and to Gabon for domestic servitude and street labor. They were fed poorly, clothed crudely, cared for inadequately, given drugs to work longer hours, and not educated or permitted to learn a trade. There were reports that young girls were trafficked to Nigeria for prostitution.
Traffickers were believed to be men and women of Togolese, Beninese, and Nigerian nationalities.
The 2005 Law for the Repression of Child Trafficking provides for prison sentences and fines for anyone who recruits, transports, hosts, or receives trafficked children, as well as prison sentences for parents who willingly facilitate the trafficking of their children. The law provides for prison sentences from three months to 10 years and fines ranging from one to 10 million CFA francs (approximately $2,200 to $22,000) for traffickers of children or their accomplices. Anyone who assists or provides information, arms, or transportation to facilitate the trafficking is considered an accomplice.
There were no reports that governmental authorities or security force members facilitated or condoned trafficking in persons. There were no reports that border guards, customs or immigration officials, labor inspectors, or local police received bribes from traffickers, although it was possible given the high level of corruption.
The government, along with international and local NGOs and some diplomatic representatives, continued to train judges, security forces, and local volunteer committees on the 2005 antitrafficking law and other existing texts; by year's end approximately 100 members of the security forces had received such training.
Trafficking occurred at both official points of entry and covertly at unrecognized, unmonitored border crossing points.
Local volunteer committees investigated reports of trafficking. The ministries of education, interior, and social affairs worked with the International Labor Organization (ILO) to establish approximately 300 antitrafficking committees in 2007.
The National Committee for the Reception and Social Reinsertion of Trafficked Children is the focal point for statistics on child trafficking and is represented in each prefecture. The committee worked with local officials to reintegrate returned trafficking victims, and during the year assisted in the repatriation of 55 trafficking victims, including 52 children. Most of these children were reintegrated into their communities.
The government provided only limited assistance for victims, primarily because of a lack of resources. The NGO Terre des Hommes assisted recovered children until their parents or other next of kin could be notified. Assistance was also available from the government-funded Social Center for Abandoned Children. The center sends recovered children to school or finds apprenticeships for them. CARE International-Togo worked with NGOs including Terre des Hommes, La Colombe, RELUTET and Ahuefaon reintegration of trafficked children, awareness campaigns for parents and communities, keeping children in school, and supporting women's income-generating activities.
During the year local officials, especially the Ministry of Social Affairs, worked closely with numerous NGOs, including Plan Togo, the World Association for Orphans-Afrique, CARE International-Togo, and Terre des Hommes, to conduct public awareness campaigns and training workshops for lawyers, journalists, judges, NGO representatives, and security personnel. The ILO and UNICEF assisted the government in organizing and training regional and local committees and in sensitizing and educating parents on the dangers of child trafficking and labor throughout the country. On June 17, the president presided over a day-long workshop that analyzed different aspects of trafficking in persons.
See also the State Department's 2008 Trafficking in Persons Report.
Persons with Disabilities
A law enacted in 2005 prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or in the provision of other state services, but the government did not effectively enforce these provisions. There was no overt government discrimination against persons with disabilities, and some held government positions, but societal discrimination against persons with disabilities was a problem. The government does not mandate accessibility to public or private facilities for persons with disabilities, although some public buildings have ramps. Although the law nominally obliged the government to aid persons with disabilities and shelter them from social injustice, the government provided only limited assistance.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
The relative dominance in private sector commerce and professions of members of southern ethnic groups, and the relative prevalence in the public sector and especially the security forces of members of the former and current presidents' Kabye and other northern groups, were sources of political tension. Political parties tended to have readily identifiable ethnic and regional bases: the RPT party was more represented among northern ethnic groups than among southern groups; the reverse was true of the UFC and CAR opposition parties.
In addition, due to the congruence of political divisions and ethnic and regional divisions, human rights abuses motivated by politics at times had ethnic and regional overtones.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination
A 2005 law prohibits discrimination against persons infected with HIV/AIDS. The government sponsored broadcasts aimed at dissuading discrimination. However, persons infected with HIV/AIDS continued to face significant societal discrimination.
There was also societal discrimination based on sexual orientation. Homosexuality is illegal. The penal code provides that a person who engages in a homosexual act may be punished by one to three years' imprisonment and fined 100,000 to 500,000 CFA francs (approximately $220 to $550).
6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The constitution and law provide workers, except security forces (including firefighters and police), with the right to form and join unions, and they exercised this right in practice.
Approximately 60 to 70 percent of formal sector workers were union members or supporters.
The constitution and law provide most workers with the right to strike, including for members of the security forces and government health workers, although the latter must ensure minimal services. The 2006 labor code prohibits retribution against strikers by employers. However, in July, after a strike of five hours and 30 minutes by the employees of the national phosphate company, Societe Nouvelle des Phosphates du Togo, nine of the strikers were fired.
In January health workers went on strike to protest work conditions. The minister of health promised to meet their conditions; however, nothing was done, and the health workers went on strike again in September. As a result of the September strike some of the strikers' conditions were met; some received overtime pay from 2007, and others were promised "risk pay" for performing dangerous activities.
In September 2007 the government responded to a threatened strike by agreeing to pay arrears on civil servant salaries and on pension payments for retired public and private sector workers.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
The constitution and the labor code nominally provide workers the right to organize and bargain collectively; however, the government limited collective bargaining to producing a single nationwide agreement that had to be negotiated and endorsed by representatives of the government, labor unions, and employers. All formal sector employees were covered by the collective bargaining agreement that set nationwide wage standards for all formal sector workers. The government participated in this process both as a labor-management mediator and as the largest employer in the formal sector, managing numerous state-owned firms that monopolized many sectors of the formal economy. Individual groups in the formal sector could attempt to negotiate agreements more favorable to labor through sector-specific or firm-specific collective bargaining, but this option was rarely used.
The Ministry of Labor failed to enforce the prohibition against antiunion discrimination.
The law provides exemptions from some provisions of the labor code, notably the regulations on hiring and firing for companies in the EPZs. Employees of EPZ firms did not enjoy the same protection against antiunion discrimination as did other workers. Workers in the EPZs were prevented from exercising freedom of association, because unions did not have free access to EPZs or the freedom to organize workers there.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
The labor code prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, such practices occurred. Children sometimes were subjected to forced labor, primarily as domestic servants, porters, and roadside sellers.
Forced or compulsory labor by children was a problem.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment
The labor code prohibits the employment of children under the age of 15 in any enterprise, prohibits children under age 18 from working at night, and requires a daily rest period of at least 12 hours for all working children. However, the government did not effectively enforce child labor laws, and child labor was a problem. Some children started work at age five and typically did not attend school for most of the school year.
Children are found working in both rural and urban areas, particularly in family-based farming and small-scale trading. In some cases children worked in factories.
For some types of industrial and technical employment, the minimum age is 18. Inspectors from the Ministry of Labor enforced these age requirements, but only in the formal sector in urban areas. In both urban and rural areas, particularly in farming and small scale trading, very young children traditionally assisted in their families' work. In rural areas, parents sometimes placed young children into domestic work in other households in exchange for one-time fees as low as 12,500 to 17,500 CFA francs ($28 to $39).
Children were trafficked into indentured and exploitative servitude, which amounted at times to slavery.
There were credible reports that Nigerian women and children were trafficked through the country to Europe, particularly to Italy and the Netherlands, for the purpose of prostitution.
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Promotion of Women was responsible for enforcing the prohibition of the worst forms of child labor. In July 2007 the National Assembly adopted the Child Code that prohibits the employment of children in the worst forms of child labor, including child trafficking, child prostitution, child pornography, and the use of children in armed conflict. Due to limited resources, the enforcement of child labor laws was weak. The ministry funded a center for abandoned children and worked with NGOs to combat child trafficking.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
The government sets minimum wages for different labor categories, ranging from unskilled through professional positions. There was no minimum wage for workers in the informal sector. In practice employers often paid less than the official minimum wage, mostly to unskilled workers. In August the government raised the official monthly minimum wage from 10,000 to 16,000 CFA francs (approximately $22 to $36) to 28,000 francs CFA ($62). However, the new wage did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. Many workers supplemented their incomes through second jobs or subsistence farming. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security is responsible for enforcement of the minimum wage system, especially in the private sectors, but did not enforce the law in practice.
Working hours of all employees in any enterprise, except for the agricultural sector, normally are not to exceed 40 hours per week; at least one 24-hour rest period per week is compulsory, and workers are expected to receive 30 days of paid leave each year. Working hours for employees in the agricultural sector are not to exceed 2,400 hours per year (46 hours per week). The law requires overtime compensation, and there are restrictions on excessive overtime work; however, the Ministry of Labor's enforcement was weak, and employers often ignored these provisions.
A technical consulting committee in the Ministry of Labor sets workplace health and safety standards. It may levy penalties on employers who do not meet the standards, and employees have the right to complain to labor inspectors of unhealthy or unsafe conditions without penalty. In practice the ministry's enforcement of the various provisions of the labor code was limited. Large enterprises are obliged by law to provide medical services for their employees and usually attempted to respect occupational health and safety rules, but smaller firms often did not. Although workers have the legal right to remove themselves from unsafe conditions without fear of losing their jobs, in practice some could not do so. Labor laws also provide protection for legal foreign workers.
This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.


text:
Very sad good pro. Far too young.
Very sad good pro. Far too young.
Horrific news. RIP
Very sad news about Ryan McBride, RIP. He was a real warrior and L.O.I. great.
Thoughts with his family and everyone at Derry.
Tragedy. Absolute tragedy. Whole life ahead of him and seemed to be living out his dream playing and captaining Derry. RIP
And maybe a chance for a second... AND IT IS! IT'S ALL OVER! PATS HAVE WON THE CUP!
Especially after loosing Mark Farren so recently too, tragic news, my thoughts are with his family and all connected with Derry City RIP.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The School of Engineers in Eibar (UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country) was where Patxi Alkorta, a local professor, defended his thesis, following his research into advanced motor control devices. These control devices are units designed to correct errors and improve the performance of the motors. This researcher has opted for cutting-edge models and has developed them so that they can be applied to an induction motor, and in this way he has transferred them from theory to practice.
To do this, he made use of an experimental platform located at the school in Eibar. "These control devices have been used before, but I have adapted them for use in an induction motor, and I have shown that they are in fact applicable and suitable," says Alkorta. His thesis is entitled Desarrollo e implementación de controladores avanzados para motores eléctricos (Development and implementation of advanced control devices for electric motors).
The asynchronous (or induction) three-phase is the type of motor most widely used in industry. "Most of the electrical power consumed worldwide is in fact used by asynchronous motors," explains Alkorta. So it is essential to optimize the way they operate so that, among other things, they consume the lowest amount of energy possible and savings are made in power costs. Control devices are a great help in this task.
Speed and position
Alkorta has focused on advanced control devices that specifically help to adjust speed and position. Firstly, as each motor has been produced to operate at a specific speed, there have to be guarantees that this will be maintained, irrespective of any alterations (oxidation, friction, etc.) that can be caused by time. Secondly, it is a similar story with regard to position. For example, if a motor is required to turn 30 degrees, apparently it should not be too much to require that it should remain firm in the new position once it has made the turn, but in practice there are pitfalls; like for instance the load on the axis. As Alkorta explains, "the task of the control device is to mitigate the impact of that load. The better the control device is, the less that load impact will be noticed."
To correct the problems of speed and position, this researcher has developed and validated several advanced control devices on the basis of the proposals of a number of authors and by making adaptations in order to apply them to induction motors. "I have adjusted them and I have come up with three versions in each case, including some changes. I have done some experimenting and I have seen that they are in fact valid," he points out.
Specifically, he has worked with two types of advanced control devices: Sliding Mode Variable Structure Control Devices, and Generalized Predictive Control Devices. With those of the first type it is possible to mitigate those changes that the motor undergoes as a result of time, and which are unpredictable (inertia, friction, etc.); and with those of the second type, the performance changes that need to be demanded of the motor in the future are determined in advance. In other words, the control device of the first type enables us to know, for example, that the motor will require more revolutions in the future to maintain the same degree of operation; and in the second type the machine can be gradually prepared in advance to make these adaptations.
At the same time, Alkorta has experimentally validated the versions developed on the basis of these models, which has constituted the main contribution of his thesis. For this work, he used the experimental platform at the School of Engineers in Eibar. It goes by the name of Ei-IM-1 and is based on a 7.5 kW commercial induction motor. It was in fact started by Alkorta and some of his colleagues four or five years ago so that tests of this type could be carried out. It has enabled this researcher to verify that these advanced control devices developed to monitor speed and position can be used in real industrial applications.
Story Source:
Materials provided by Elhuyar Fundazioa. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Cite This Page:


text:
The Evidence |
Doing it wrong and doing it right |
The Evidence |
Doing it wrong and doing it right |
Outsource, outsource, outsource. I've traveled to the States several times from the UK and the TSA are just plain thugs.
The government doesn't care because, like AT&T in the 70's, they don't have to. ("You don't like us? Try two Dixie Cups and a string!") And they know this.
When you're certain you can't be fired and you're ethically challenged, there's just no end to the amount of mischief you can cause as you try to break up the monotony of your job.
What a joy it will be when these people are in put in charge of health care!
An inspector who planned to vandalize/steal from luggage would likely just ignore the reporting requirement anyway.
What's much worse than TSA baggage inspectors trashing well-packed suitcases (as happened to me almost every time); and stealing things... (did I really forget that in the hotel?!)... is that they are also involved heavily in smuggling drugs.
Attention TSA: please remove all drugs you put in my suitcase when it arrives at the destination without spilling.
My wife had her phone charger cord cut in three pieces in her carry on luggage. On returning to the airport she complained to the TSA. An agent told her they would look at the video of her passing through security. After 3 days, they told her they couldn't find her in any video. She then complained to the airport. They told her they would get to the bottom of it. Two days later they told her nothing could be done. She has since sent a registered letter to an address published by the TSA. It was returned today as undeliverable. Thugs understates the nadtiness of these people..
This post feels a bit like a voice crying out in the wilderness - of course the TSA doesn't hold itself accountable for crimes. Everybody knows this by now. It's like expecting compensation after a DEA swat team shoots your dog - they are just thugs, plain and simple.
However an interesting point is the part about having to break the lock on your suitcase and having no liability for it. In a private market does an automechanic pry your door off its hinges and then leave you with the bill after saying he "has no liability"? Hardly.
I haven't flown commercial since the TSA was banded -- I use trains, boats, buses, taxis, or private transportation. But in the past couple of years, they've been showing up at train and bus stations. I suspect "non-discriminating" roadblocks are the next expansion opportunity.
This happens all the time and TSA will always deny responsibility. I've had things stolen four times and TSA refused payment every time. In one case they simply refued to respond.
This is a corrupt agency staffed by criminals and low lifes who couldn't care less about safety, only what they can steal or get awayt with.
TSA needs to be replaced with an accountable agency.
I can't believe that a legally protected monopoly wouldn't take precautions to do things right!
Is it possible the sourdough exploded during flight? Accumulated gas from the activity of the bacteria?
My wife recently returned home from a conference in Phoenix, where she bought me an expensive ball cap at an auction, packed the cap securely in her bag, kept the bag with her at all times, checked it with Alaska Air in Phoenix, but it was gone when she arrived home (Anchorage). There was a TSA inspection tag in the bag.
She called TSA to complain. Their initial response was, "How do you know TSA took it?" Our reply, "Who else is responsible for the bag once it's checked by the gate agent?" The idea that a baggage handler stole it while transferring the bag to the plane, or between planes, seems unlikely, given there was no evidence outside the bag as to what was inside.
To RKN:
If gas pressure from the sourdough was responsible, the jars or their lids would have been damaged. They were not.
Besides, that doesn't explain how it got inside a closed toothbrush case.
The TSA is an organization of liars and thieves. I've had things stolen, my bag unpacked and just thrown back together and generally think TSA agents are miserable excuses for human beings.
Our organization is meeting with Congress next Tuesday to present factual evidence on why the strip search scanner program is not effective, even if one ignores the blatantly anti-constitutional issues.
http://fttusa.org for how we are fighting the TSA, details on home page.
Unfortunately, your experience is not abnormal.
What would happen if you packed your luggage in a deliberately... destructive way?
"Oh yeah I rig all my luggage with a stink bomb trap. Forgot to disarm it... my bahd"
While TSA inspectors are notorious for stealing items from checked luggage and damaging items, I am unaware of any cases of vandalism.
It is possible that after opening your suitcase, the inspector opened the electric toothbrush case for inspection. The inspector then opened the jars containing the sourdough. The pressure build up from the gases caused the sourdough to explode upon opening of the jar and to land in the open toothbrush case and open suitcase. The inspector then closed everything without bothering to clean up the mess.
Sourdough starter doesn't build up that sort of pressure in a period of a few hours. And if it did, it wouldn't explode and spatter starter out of the jar. At most, when you opened the lid, you would get some expulsion of gas.
I don't know what you count as vandalism, but I've had a luggage strap that was not locked cut.
We currently have some problems here in Europe. However, the more I hear about the way things are in the USA, the happier I am to be here and not over there.
I've recently read that incredibly the TSA doesn't do background checks on their employees. Makes you wonder if the TSA agent that just fondled your 5 year old daughter had just gotten out of prison for child molestation or the agent at the scanner hasn't been arrested for rape.
I saw case of bizarre TSA behavior at Honolulu airport, for a flight to Japan. The TSA inspector was lifting up each suitcase and then deliberately smashing it down hard on the conveyor belt. Then he'd look around the crowd as if defying them to say anything. The room filled with Japanese travelers, who watched this spectacle impassively. My wife tried to slip our suitcase past this guy, but he noticed and bellowed that it was a breach of security. He then opened up the suitcase, looked through it, and put it down gently on the conveyor belt -- a seeming admission that his previous behavior was wrong. Then we left. Later, I reflected that he didn't arrest us because, probably, his own behavior would have been called into question. There was a whole room full of witnesses, and probably video to boot. In fact, the guy blackmailed himself. (I assume it was TSA. Come to think of it, I never checked.)
There is one solution to this problem: travel with a declared firearm. Not only are real locks (which TSA by law can't open outside your presence) and hard cases mandatory, it creates a paperwork trail and you must display the weapon to the counter agent. Now just imagine what would happen if you claimed a firearm was stolen. Law enforcement takes that seriously. Theft they'll turn a blind eye to, but weapons are another item entirely. Furthermore, they can't deny you ever had the item, you have paperwork.
Piggy-backing on randian's comment, the declared firearm can be a starter pistol, which, I understand, can be owned and packed in the luggage by anyone in any state of the union.
My theory:
The TSA agent is telling you not to bring stuff like that in your luggage anymore. Jars within jars containing some weird material need to be investigated by TSA agents. That means work and they don't like it. They are trying to teach you a lesson. The lesson is stop bringing that type of stuff on the plane with you.
I have had a similar experience with recovery drink powders I have brought with me. In an effort to save space I moved the powders out of their original, large container and put them in some smaller tupperware. The final result was powder all over the inside of my suitcase. Like you said, there were steps taken to make it look obvious that it was intentional. The powders have NEVER made it through without being all over the suitcase. Eventually I figure things out.
Appropos Anonymous at 7:25 am May 30:
I once worked with a man who had relatives in Lithuania. This was when the Soviet Union was still considered a major threat to world peace by tne non-marxists in the West. He described how he wanted to send his granny some instant coffee when that was new and unobtainable behind the iron curtain. He sent it the first time in the orginal, labeled glass jar. It was not delivered and he got a note saying that they can't ship glass containers because of the breakage hazard. The second time, he sent it packed in Tupperware, which was also something new and unobtainable behind the iron curtain. It likewise was not delivered, and he received a note saying they couldn't deliver an unidentified brown powder.
At that point he decided the powers that be didn't want instant coffee polluting their worker's paradise.
Who'd have thought that we would hire all those unemployed KGB and Stasi personnnel -- In the land of the free?
Sometimes it is the pettiest of of statist annoyances that really bring into sharp contrast the collectivist mentality in which only impersonal forces are believed to be acting.
It isn't Human Action occurring, they might articulate, but the collective forces of history... a la Hegel.
But, of course, it is only and just Human Action ever at work.
Our friends at Downsize DC have an abolish the TSA action item: https://secure.downsizedc.org/etp/tsa/
Of course, the only way to guarantee the right inspector # is on the card is to have someone else place it ... who could be the vandal.
I was sexually assaulted about 60 years ago and will never get over it so I have not flown since they hired the perverts to assault people at the airport.
Before that the bureaucrats were so vicious and nasty that twice I found a chair and sat and cried when I got through being abused by them.
Since we can only carry on small containers, I went without my wild yam cream that comes in a 4 ounce jar and came home suicidal because I went without it for too many days.
Random note: the page title for this post is "Ideas: TSA Vandalism", so when a link to this post is shared elsewhere on the web, at first glance it looks like somebody sharing ideas for vandalism against the TSA...
I used to love to fly, but I haven't flown in probably 8 years and would desperately avoid it now, as I have a young son whom I want to protect from being bullied and molested by government thugs.
All they would have to do is to include on the note saying that the suitcase had been searched a number identifying the inspector who searched it. If they got multiple complaints about the same inspector, they could investigate and take appropriate action.
For the record -
As a 22-year-old girl who frequently ends up flying alone, I have never had to deal particularly much with being "bullied and molested by government thugs." Not to say it does not happen, but I think I can say that it does not happen the vast majority of the time. I remember the TSA being much worse right after the rules came in - I think in the meantime, they've fired at least some of the jerks and acquired people who at least care a little about their public image.
They still aren't nice, they still aren't efficient (as shown by the original post) - but neither are they monsters.
I can't wait for personal private air transportation to take off (pardon the pun) so we don't have to deal with this garbage any more.
A TSA postcard with the cut lock also found in the suitcase after the return from a US business trip. Although I seem not have suffered any loss, the idea of legality of breaking into the luggage performed by TSA is concerning me. Additionally, uncertainty of the health impact of the scanner on a growing child triggered me to cancel the planning a family trip there.
The TSA is run by vandalizing teenage high school dropouts. I recently flew several legs of a trip and when I got home half a bottle of vitamin B-12 was dumped put in my suitcase. It was a stupid juvenile prank. The bottle was sealed, and their stupid TSA note was in the bag. Also, they removed my iPad from its sleeve (which is NEVER necessary) and put it in backwards so none of the buttons were accessible. So now every time we fly we are inconvenienced by the actions of terrorists a decade ago AND we are now harassed by teenage high school dropout misfits who just want to vandalize and torment their own countrymen.
If they got multiple complaints about the same inspector, they could investigate and take appropriate action.
After 3 days, they told her they couldn't find her in any video. She then complained to the airport.
The last time I traveled by air to the USA (2004), when departing the TSA inspector did not cut the lock on my suitcase — they cut the slider on the zipper, ruining the suitcase. At my destination my suitcase came down the luggage conveyor wide open with clothing hanging out.
Eight years later (just weeks ago) a friend's bicycle box was opened and left open. This box traveled from the US, through Heathrow to the destination — open with items hanging out.
The last time I traveled by air to the USA (2004), when departing the TSA inspector did not cut the lock on my suitcase — they cut the slider on the zipper, ruining the suitcase. At my destination my suitcase came down the luggage conveyor wide open with clothing hanging out.
Eight years later (just weeks ago) a friend's bicycle box was opened and left open. This box traveled from the US, through Heathrow to the destination — open.
The government and its employees are not evil, just inefficient.
First time flying in 25 years. TSA screening went well at both departures. Agents were polite. I noticed that some of the passengers were hostile tho. It's like people come to the airport with issues. A different story about checked luggage tho. My suitcase was searched both times. The lock was cut and thrown away. I placed items in plastic bags as stated in instructions. The plastic bags were opened and nail polish spilled. Fiber and shower gel were also spilled. The spills were contained to the bag. Nothing missing, just messy. As in any other line of work, there are people who are doing their job and others who are there to collect a pay check and move on after a few months. Passengers can be Jerks too. Like the woman who has to lay her seat all the way back on my daughter's lap, as if those seats arn't cramped already. It was a 2.5 hour flight for God's sake.. She can't stay up or sleep upright for that long? Please...Lay off the booze. Also, look at the mess some people leave behind on their seats. Slobs. And lastly..Ladies, TP the toilet seats or carry seat protectord, or clean up after yourself... disgusting...In summary TSA have done some bad things, but there are allot fewer of them then passegers, who also do bad things. RESPECT each other.
My Husband and I just came back from Hawaii. We went to Pearl Harbor and bought souvenirs for our children these were just books from pearl harbor and they were taken we also had papers in there too and they were taken. I understand about the inspection but why do they have to steal items? This also happened when we came back from Alaska. Items were taken and the bag was a mess. We should be able to report this and something should be done, but it seems that we can't do anything about it. So sad especially in this country.
Well! We arrived home and unpacking we discovered all our vitamins uncapped (screw caps) and thrown everywhere. Our bag is a huge powdery mess. My husband travels with coffemate and that was also completely dumped all over and was all over the conveyor belt as well! American Airlines said it was the TSA (happens all the time) TSA said it was AA until I told the TSA lady that I will be reporting TSA to senators. She changed her tune and took my info. I plan on reporting them to FLA senators and signing the petition for change. Also our photos were stolen from our cruise. Classy. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy that the same people claiming to protect are phsyco. After reading the government site on the arrests of the TSA workers (this is only the ones they have caught) I am done with flying anywhere. If TSA employees have a mind to treat your personal belongings with disrespect then I wonder how they feel about the person traveling! and the plane you are on!


text:
The Value of Children :
The Blessings of a Full Quiver
By David Crank
Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; They will not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies in the gate. Ps 127:3-5 (NAS) |
The unbelievers around us do not place a high value on children. This is well evidenced by the high abortion rate and the number of couples who either want no children or only one or two. There also seems to be a widespread mindset that regards children as a bother, as an expense, and as an obstacle that hinders their parents' success and enjoyment of life.
Now most people probably do want children, but many only in small doses. One or two is enough and they want others to take care of them, entertain them and take responsibility for them. Many people just don't want the responsibility of children! Some parents seem to only want to be grandparents. They want to enjoy the children occasionally but give them back to someone else to handle most of the care, education and deal with any problems.
But God has a different view - He calls children "blessings"! The Bible describes children as gifts from God and as rewards! Though He may choose to bless us in many different ways, one of the most prominent ones in the Scriptures is by blessing us with a large family. How many people today associate large family with blessings? Probably not many! How unreceptive many are to God's blessings! Now don't think that all of this comes just from the few verses at the first of this article. There are many passages associating children, and even many children, with God's blessing (See some following this article). There are also many scriptures where parents refer to their children as gifts from God or where God is credited with having given a particular child as a special gift and blessing. Even from the creation of Adam and Eve we find God blessing mankind with the words, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it."
I am ashamed to say that many Christians seem to have adopted some of the world's view concerning children. Truly this world does press in on us and try to conform us to itself. And we do sometimes conform without even realizing that is what we are doing! Rather than seeing children as primarily burdens and financial obligations, we should see them as God sees them. We need to be transformed by the renewing of our minds through the word of God (Romans 12:2).
Admittedly, children are a huge responsibility and require a great deal of self-sacrifice on the part of their parents. So in this sense, there is a burden involved. But the Bible portrays the blessing of children to be so much greater than the burden of their care and upbringing. Though we know Gods Word is true when it tells us children are blessings, yet it is sometimes hard to truly view each and every child as God's blessing at all times. We can easily rationalize that that too much of a good thing can be bad and that children are only a blessing in moderation. Moderation we may define as only coming after we have been married a few years and then always two to three years apart, and then stopping after three or four or maybe five children. But of course that is not exactly what God's Word says or even implies. The Bible regards persons having eight or ten or even twelve children as being exceptionally blessed by God. Few people would regard twelve children as children in moderation!
But a big family can be scary even to Christians today. Most adults today grew up in fairly small families. I was an only child, most of my friends were from families with only two or three children. With no experience or good role models for how to raise a truly large family, it can be frightening! How could we ever manage? How could we support so many children? How could we have time for them all and do a good job of raising them? How could we hold up physically and mentally to the challenge?
I have had a hobby from time to time of researching our ancestors. And do you know what? A lot of everyday folks in the 1700s and 1800s had very large families by today's standards. I find lots of families with seven to ten children and some with even twelve or thirteen. Now admittedly times are very different, but it is still encouraging to note that these folks managed and many did a fine job as parents and had wonderful loving families. Could it be that we are frightened for no good reason? Perhaps we are frightened because we are seeing things through the eyes of our unbelieving, materialistic and selfish culture rather than through God's eyes. Perhaps it is due to a lack of faith, or lack of encouragement from other Christians, or lack of instruction and shared wisdom about how to wisely raise a large family.
It seems clear that God declares all children to be blessings from Him to us. We can take this by faith, but it may be helpful to contemplate just how children bless us. Following are few of the ways children often are, or should be, blessings to their parents.
1. Enjoyment and entertainment. When they are small, they are so cute, so fun to play with, so gratifying to watch as they grow and learn. They can provide endless hours of enjoyment if we are willing to take the time.
2. Teaching us love, self-sacrifice, discipline, self-control, gentleness, and patience. God can use children so effectively to mature us and help us to develop godly character. What better classroom does God have to teach these things than a home with children to be raised?
3. The blessing of the love and trust of a child. The love and trust of a small child is so precious and can have such an effect in softening and keeping our hearts softened.
4. Assistance with our work. Children properly taught can be a big help around the household as young as 6 or 7 years of age. And as they get older, their abilities multiply, making their help even more valuable. Older children can handle nearly all household tasks, can be a big help in caring for younger siblings and even homeschooling them, can help with animals, a garden, with a family business, even with building a house! Teaching your children to work alongside you aids greatly in their instruction and discipleship. Children should have the opportunity to become contributing members of the household, both for their sakes and yours.
5. Assistance in later life. When we are old and less capable of doing for ourselves, our children (and grandchildren) can and should be a huge help in a great many ways (just as we should also be to our parents and grandparents). Sometimes just having a grown child who sometimes visits or calls or writes makes all the difference in the life of an elderly person. When one becomes old and feeble, ones children, grandchildren and great grand children may become the primary reason for continuing to live.
6. Enlarging our impact on this world. Even as God associated being fruitful with the ability to subdue and rule over the earth (Gen 1:28), so our children, grandchildren, and later descendents extend our reach far beyond what we in ourselves could accomplish. With each child we have the priceless opportunity to teach and train that child for about 20 years. And even afterwards we can continue to influence and instruct and assist our children in some things through the rest of our lives. Even one child well raised can have a mighty impact for God. Who can estimate the possible impact of 10 or 12 children well raised for the Lord? This is probably some of what is alluded to in Psalm 127:5, "They shall not be ashamed, when they speak with their enemies in the gate." In other words, parents with many dutiful children tend to do well in confrontations with enemies. A man with many children can be (and ought to be) a man of considerable influence and might with both his community and his church. Why? Because when they are grown, he has the love and support and assistance of a significant number of other family members. As his children's families grow, so does his potential influence. This was well understood by people in earlier times (and is by people in many other cultures). Even in some of the old TV shows from the 1950s and 1960s, the value of family assisting each other was extolled (i.e. "Bonanza" in which the three Cartwright brothers were always assisting each other and their father out of difficult or dangerous situations). The more loyal children parents had, the more their power and influence.
Is every child born really a blessing? Is there a time when a child is not truly a blessing? Well the Scripture seems to make no qualification - children are a blessing from God period. But though God intends children to be blessings, the parents may not receive the child as such and may raise the child in a way that prevents the child from being much of a blessing to them or anyone else. It is the parents choice whether to accept the child as the blessing God intended or to regard the child as an unwanted burden.
Is God's timing ever truly wrong? The timing of a given child may seem hard to us or just awfully inconvenient. There might be serious situations that make us think it is an unwise time to bring a child into the world. Perhaps there are huge marital difficulties, perhaps very serious health problems, perhaps a family financial crisis, perhaps mental illness or addiction, or perhaps a war and great suffering and hardship. But even so, there are so numerous examples of how a child has been a tremendous blessing in spite of each of these circumstances. Sometimes the child can be a significant tool in God's hands in resolving marital problems. At other times, a child can become the very joy and blessing of its parents in the midst of otherwise very hard and difficult times. Which of us is wise enough to know what the future holds and to judge when is a truly good or bad time in which to have a child?
Without knowing all that a child's future holds, how can we judge the best time for a child to be born? And even if we think we can, there are problems! We may try to have a child, but there is no telling when or if a child will be conceived. And at the time of conception, we don't truly know what tomorrow holds (James 4:11) - in nine months things may be terribly different! God raised up Esther to be royalty at just the time needed to save the people of Israel from destruction at the hands of Haman. Being born into captivity and being orphaned does not seem ideal to us, but it was Gods perfect timing for the sake of all of His people! Who can say how much depends on, or how many other lives will be touched by a single child and how great the loss to us all will be if that child is not born in God's time?
So just how valuable is a child? How can one place a specific value on another living soul born into a family? Is a child worth $100,000? $1,000,000? $10,000,000? It is impossible to accurately value a child by money! The question is whether we value children properly, as God does. Would we willingly suffer financial hardship to give life to another child? Would we even risk our lives for the sake of a baby? Moses parents risked theirs!
Does a child's value decrease with being the 4th or the 8th or the 14th child? Numerous examples can be given of the greatest blessing being received from a child who was born after the birth of many other siblings. Consider Joseph, the 12th child (11th son) of Jacob. Consider David, the 8th son of Jesse. Consider John and Charles Wesley (the 15th and 18th children of their parents). Indeed we have no way of knowing just how great a blessing each child will develop into. Will it be the 1st or the 4th or the 10th child that will really be there for us in our hour of need? In the fictional story of "Little Lord Fauntleroy", a rich and powerful Earl loses all three sons to death in early manhood, but finds a single grandson, born to his youngest, who changes the bitter grandfather's heart and becomes such a blessing to all the people around. Only God knows the future that lies before each of our children and the blessing they may become to us and to many others.
But some may ask, "But isn't it a sin to bring children into the world when you cannot provide adequately for them"? ("But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his own household, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever" 1 Tim 5:8 (NAS) )
Take a closer look at this verse in its context and think about it a little. The context is in reference to providing for your widowed mother or perhaps a widowed aunt. It is talking about being selfish and not sharing what you have with your own relatives, leaving them to be supported and cared for by the church when you are well able to do so! It is not addressing how well you are able to provide for those of your family, nor is it condeming the poor man who is struggling to meet the needs of his family. The rebuke is directed at the selfish , the greedy and those who will not work and take responsibility for their own family members. Whatever our means, we are to share with those of our own family who are in need, doing our best to provide for them.
This verse does not even hint at reducing or limiting the number of members of your household so that there will be a greater abundance! I find no place in Scripture where husbands and wives are ever encouraged to prevent conception. Consider, is it ever a sin to accept God's blessings? Or is it ever virtue to reject His blessings?
Do we really think that God will give us a child and not provide us with the essentials with which to raise up this child? Does not God promise to provide for our basic needs, food and covering (Matt 6:25-34)? We are expected by God to work for our bread, but it is He who enables us to work and provides a return to us for our labor. And we are assured by the Bible that He cares for us and knows exactly what we truly need!
Paul admonishes us to be content with food and covering (1 Tim 6:6-8). Does our contentment require houses and land and furniture and electronics and so on? Have we failed to provide for our children and sinned if we are unable to pay $20,000 per year per child for a college education? Or if we are unable to buy each child a car and provide them with the latest name brand clothes, etc.? When we fear not being able to provide materially for another child, is this not the same as being anxious for what we shall eat and drink and wear? Is this not just our fear to trust God to provide for us?
Consider the following:
1. Is it really irresponsible to allow God to bless you? Has God anywhere commanded you to take responsibility for planning the number and timing of your children? Has God anywhere criticized someone for having too many children or not spacing them well?
2. How do you know how many children you can provide well for? Can you see into the future? Have you already learned all that God would have you learn about frugality and using your resources wisely? There are plenty of examples of very large Christian families who seem to do well on very modest incomes. There are also plenty of testimonies concerning God's faithfulness to increase or supplement income as one's family grows.
3. Will God give you more children than you are able to raise well? Will He entrust His blessings to us knowing our inability to care for them adequately? If He does, it is surely part of His plan and He will use it for our benefit (Rom 8:28).
4. How many children can you raise well? How do you know? Even if you feel you are failing as a father or mother, God may still have a special purpose for that additional child. God is not limited by your shortcomings in using that child mightily for His purposes!
Be careful what you call irresponsible - when is trusting God ever irresponsible? Who can be better trusted? Who else loves us so, has the wisdom and ability to see what the future holds and really knows what is best? Or who else has the limitless resources and might with which to provide for us and protect us through every hardship or trial we may encounter in life?
Now there are scriptures indicating that there are times and situations in which it may be best not to marry. But once you are married, multiplying is part of the program - if God so blesses you! And in 1 Corinthians 7:3-5 Paul instructs husbands and wives not to abstain from marital relations (perhaps the only practical and reliable birth control available to most people at that time). Marriage is supposed to produce children, even in accord with God's command twice given in Genesis to be fruitful and multiply. God never withdrew this command or indicated any advantage or wisdom in trying to prevent our bodies from functioning as He designed.
And neither is modern birth control similar to using modern medicine to treat illnesses. It is one thing to medically treat your body when it is ill, or to surgically remove a part which is misfunctioning and harming the whole body. It is quite another to surgically alter your correctly functioning body or take medications to tamper with correct hormonal balances in order to prevent conception.
Does this article scare you to death? It was a topic I was once very fearful about. If you grew up in a family of only 1-3 children (like I did) and nearly everyone you know came from similar families, it is hard to envision a much larger family and how you would cope. You may wonder, if you did trust God for your family size, how many children would He give you? I dont know, but consider this:
1. Does it really matter? Trust God to decide! You don't need to fear - but you may need to adjust your expectations concerning what is "normal" and what constitutes an "average" verses a "large" family.
2. We can draw inferences from others who have taken this path. We can look at the rare people around us who have followed this pattern for many years. (The few I know had the following number over 20-25 years:1, 4, 5, 12, 14). We can look back in records of earlier times, when birth control methods were few and viewed by most good Christians as sinful. From studying our familys ancestors, I find an average of about 7-8 children per family during the 1700s and 1800s. I've found a few families of 12 or 13 children, many more with 8-10 children, and a significant number with only 4-6. But it was pretty rare to find a husband and wife living to 50 years of age with only 1 or 2 children. And in the several hundred families I studied, 13 was the largest number of children.
I just recently read of President Theodore Roosevelts complaints about the falling American birth rate: from 1800 to 1900 the average birth rate of white women had dropped from seven children to 3.56 children. The birth rate for women in 1800 was probably minimally affected by birth control. The most remarkable record of many children I have come across is that of Susanna Wesley and her mother. Susanna was the 25th and last child of her mother and she herself had 19 children (at least 2 sets of twins among these). But only 10 of her children lived and some number of her mothers children died early also. Yet God remarkably gifted these women to be good mothers for all their children!
We can also look at records in the Bible of people's families. Abraham & Sarah (1); Isaac & Rebekah (2); Jacob (13 - but with 4 wives); Moses (2); Jesse (8 sons); etc. There are others that are pointed out in the Bible as blessed with unusually large families or unusually large numbers of sons. In 1 Chronicles 26:4-5 we are told that Obed-edom had eight sons, with the comment that God had indeed blessed him. Similarly we see Job being very blessed with seven sons and three daughters. These are among the larger families mentioned in the Scriptures, other than those where many wives were involved. And these are people who appear to have wanted just as many children as possible! This all shows that God causes a lot of variety in terms of how many children each couple has. His plan for you may be very different from the next person.
3. We can consider what seems likely given the way God has made our bodies. (Assuming God neither withheld children nor did anything but let our bodies function in accord with His design). In theory, a woman could have about one child a year for her entire child bearing years. Assuming marriage at about age 20, a woman might be able to have children for about 30-35 years. Practicality is a bit different though, as a woman's fertility tends to decline in the last 10 years. In fact ovulation often completely ceases years before the menstrual cycles cease.
But you just don't find women now or in the historical past with anything approaching thirty to thirty five children, even when marriages as early as age 16 were common (except perhaps a few remarkable women who had multiple sets of twins or triplets, etc.). Besides the fact of near infertility for 5 or more years prior to menopause, having children as close together as one year for an extended period is somewhat unusual. When women nurse their babies fully there is usually at least a year and a half, if not two years minimum between babies. And as a woman ages there seems to be a pattern of children being spaced out more without any effort on the couples' part. The 1-2 year gap becomes 4 and then 6, etc. A number of around 12-14 children tends to be the practical limit for all but the most unusual women. (Of course you could be the next Susanna Wesley!)
All children are given by God to be blessings to their parents (even to the ungodly). A quiver full of children is a great blessing, but is not part of Gods plan for everyone. Some people very favored by God will not be blessed with children at all or will be blessed with very few (i.e. Abraham with Sarah; Isaac & Rebekah; Zachariah & Elizabeth). But whether or not God chooses to bless us in this way, we should learn to value children as He does and welcome each and every one.
We should not fear having a large family and we should view a large family (8, 10, 12, 14 children) as very good and desirable! And we should trust God, that if He so blesses, He will continue to provide for us all that we truly need, including the need for the means, strength and ability to raise a large family well!
Volume 1 Issue 2: July / August 2000, © Unless The Lord ... Magazine


text:
Michael Sam's NFL journey isn't over yet.
The Dallas Cowboys plan to bring the free-agent defensive end in for a physical on Wednesday, a team source told NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport. If the rookie passes, Sam will be added to the team's practice squad.
"I'm excited to be to be joining Dallas, I just want to play football, it's great to be heading back to my home state," Sam told the Daily Mail, via the Dallas Morning News on Tuesday night after his arrival in Dallas. "... It's been a roller coaster this past week but I'm happy where I'm at now. ... I'm just looking forward to being a Cowboy, my focus is on making the team."
The seventh-round pick of the Ramscleared waivers on Sunday after St. Louis released him during their roster reduction to 53 men. NFL Media columnist Michael Silver reported that coach Jeff Fisher"remains a fan" but the Rams needed practice help at other positions due to injury concerns.
The NFL's first openly gay player racked up 2.5 sacks this preseason and led the Rams with six tackles in Thursday night's preseason loss to the Miami Dolphins.
The latest "Around The NFL Podcast" previews the Packers-Seahawks opener and announces nominees for the new "Team of ATL."